Almost a month after three members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot were found guilty of “hooliganism” and sentenced to two years in prison, Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev said Wednesday that they should be released. Although Medvedev said he finds them ‘nauseating,’ he also said further imprisonment would be “unproductive.” Musicians, activists […]
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sent the new rules for women’s health centers back to the Board of Health. Make your voice heard at the September 14 meeting! On June 15, the Virginia Board of Health voted to amend a key provision of the proposed permanent regulations for women’s health centers– the amendment means that existing […]
Craft store and evangelical-based Hobby Lobby filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against the Obama Administration over the mandate requiring employers to provide coverage for the morning-after pill and other medications. Under the new mandate, companies who do not provide coverage that includes medication such as the morning after pill can face fines of up […]
The Missouri state legislature voted to override Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of a law that would exempt religious institutions from providing contraception coverage to employees yesterday. In addition the legislature gave a public rebuttal to the Obama Administration for the Affordable Care Act, the first in the nation. The veto override and rebuttal came as […]
One million young minority voters could be affected by new voter suppression laws enacted in 17 states, according to a study released by the Black Youth Project. The study [PDF], co-authored by Cathy Cohen and Jon Rogowski from the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis respectively, found that an estimated 700,000 minority […]
Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced today that the Colorado Personhood Coalition has missed the Monday deadline for ballot certification for the “Personhood” Amendment to appear on the November 2012 ballot. On August 29, Gessler determined that the amendment did not have enough valid signatures to qualify for the November 2012 election. While the […]
UPDATE – Wednesday, September 19: The Chicago Teachers Union voted yesterday to end their strike and agreed today to a tentative offer put forward by the city of Chicago. The agreement includes, among other things, an increase in pay for teachers, shorter school days, increased funding for music, art, and physical education classes as well […]
Televagelist and host of The 700 Club Pat Robertson told viewers Monday to become Muslim so they can beat their disrespectful wives. In response to a question sent into the program by a man who feels his wife does not respect him, Pat Robertson advised viewers “Well, you could become a Muslim and you could […]
On Monday, President Obama set the record for most women judges appointed to the federal bench in one term when Stephanie Rose was confirmed on a 89 to 1 Senate vote as a new U.S. District Court Judge in Southern District of Iowa. Obama has now appointed 72 women to federal judgeships. This is the […]
A panel of judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit appeals court ruled yesterday that a woman cannot be prosecuted under an Idaho state law for taking medication to induce an abortion. In September 2011, Jennie Linn McCormack used medication she had purchased from the internet to abort her own […]
Representative Joe Walsh (R-IL) told contraception advocate and Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke to “go get a job” at a campaign event on Saturday. Congressman Walsh addressed a crowd of supporters in Addison, Illinois, on Saturday about Sandra Fluke’s speech at the Democratic National Convention. He said “Think about this, a 30, 31, 32 year […]
The first academic study since the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” found that troops have suffered no negative side effects. The study included interviews with anti-repeal advocates, 13 generals and admirals who were against the repeal, and 60 active duty soldiers from every branch of the military of all sexual orientations. The study was […]
Last week the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) reached a $295,000 settlement in a sex discrimination suit with Lund Boat Co., a subsidiary of Brunswick Corporation. In the past two years, the Brunswick Corporation has been awarded $248 million in federal contracts. OFCCP found that Lund Boat Co. had passed […]
For the first time since 1987, Chicago’s public school teachers went to picket lines this morning instead of classrooms. 25,000 public school teachers went on strike after contract negotiations Sunday night failed to reach a compromise. Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union, said that negotiations on wages were not the main points of […]
President Obama’s approval rating increased from 47 percent to 52 percent during the Democratic National Convention last week, according to a recent Gallup Daily Poll. The Gallup Poll was conducted using daily phone interviews with 1,500 adults with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. This is the highest President Obama’s approval rating […]
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine will appeal a federal court decision granting early-voting in the state. Last week, a federal judge ruled that Ohio must reinstate early voting during the three-days before the election, a schedule that had previously been eliminated by Secretary of State, Jon Husted. The court ruled that the elimination of early […]
Bishop Robert Finn was found guilty on one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri. Bishop Finn is the highest ranking U.S. Catholic official convicted in a sex abuse scandal. Bishop Finn was sentenced to two years of court-supervised probation. A condition of Finn’s probation is that he […]
Zach Wahl, a marriage-equality advocate made famous by his speech delivered at a hearing in Iowa about being raised by a lesbian couple, endorsed President Obama last night at the Democratic National Convention because of the party’s position on same-sex marriage. In his speech, Wahl attacked opponents of same-sex marriage. “I think every child deserves […]
On Tuesday, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was asked by reporters if she could balance her role as a mother and running for governor in 2014, despite the fact that Madigan has not confirmed she will run. Madigan shut down reporters’ questions about her intentions in running as governor in the 2014 mid-term election, stating […]
President Barack Obama officially accepted the Democratic Part’s nomination for re-election last night in Charlotte, North Carolina. In accepting the nomination, the President stated “If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void: lobbyists and special interests; the people with the $10 million […]
